One week after announcing an LMA to simulcast on 1040 WCHR Flemington, NJ, Disney’s “1050 ESPN” WEPN New York adds a third signal with an LMA of 107.1 WLIR Hampton Bays, NY. WLIR covers the eastern end of Long Island as well as being audible in portions of Southern Connecticut. WLIR dropped its Alternative Rock format earlier this month and has been simulcasting sister Dance “Party 105.3” WDRE. The ESPN simulcast will begin on Monday, January 21.
The 107.1 frequency has had an interesting history. Originally operated by a group including musician Paul Simon as WWHB “HB 107”, the station spent much of the early 90’s simulcasting WNEW New York. In 1997, it became part of Big City Radio’s “Y107” Country quadcast first as WWVY and later WWXY. After Big City went bankrupt, the station was sold to Nassau Broadcasting and quickly spun to The Morey Organization where it began simulcasting 92.7 WLIR Garden City, NY. 92.7 was sold to Univision to become a New York City rimshot and WLIR’s format and calls were shifted to 107.1. The station was originally called “107.1 The Box”, but quickly reverted back to the WLIR branding, which it has retained except for a three month run as “Neo-Breeze”, a Popular Standards/Adult Alternative hybrid with limited sponsorships. WEPN will become the fourth station targetting New York City to be simulcast on the 107.1 frequency.
